


The Ex Factor

by Beccabo



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-27
Updated: 2013-05-29
Packaged: 2017-12-13 03:45:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/819578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beccabo/pseuds/Beccabo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve McGarrett never believed his past would come back to haunt him. But it has...in the form of a beautiful NYPD detective who has invaded his island and his latest investigation.  With danger lurking, office politics interfering, and old feelings resurfacing, the fireworks are about to begin!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Undercover

**Chapter One - Undercover**

Just inside the entrance to the club, Detective Danny Williams scanned the room as he searched for a familiar face. The establishment was certainly not lacking in what some would call "entertainment": a dozen or so female strippers danced seductively around poles to the beat of heavy rap music as strobe lights flashed overhead, alternately providing the room with light before plunging it into darkness and then brightening it again. Just as the detective thought he was about to have a seizure from the on-again, off-again illuminations, he found what he was looking for.

Recognizing his mark as he sat with his thugs in an occupied semi-circular booth in the back right-hand corner of the strip club, Danny strode casually toward him.

"Good evening," Danny said as he reached them. The Polynesian-skinned, bleached blond, designer-suited Hawaiian nodded back in reply, barely acknowledging the other man's approach. "I've been told that you and I have a mutual friend.  And might be able to help each other out."

"Who?"

"TJ Carlton."

Without skipping a beat, Kai Akino, newly minted head of the Wilson Crips gang, slid over to his right wordlessly, making room for Danny to slip into the middle of the booth. The two beefy bodyguards eyed the newcomer suspiciously and Danny flashed them his patented smirk but wasted no time in getting straight to the point.

"It was promised at my last meeting with Carlton that the sample I am looking to purchase from you would be delivered last week," Leaning back and draping a relaxed arm over the back of the booth, Danny added calmly, "I never received it. Why?"

"How about a drink? Or a girl?" the young man asked, snapping his fingers brusquely. Having begun to sweat slightly, Akino tugged at the collar of his silk shirt while fiddling with his napkin nervously, almost hysterically, as he attempted to change the subject. "Diamond!" Then, to Danny, "She's my personal favorite – new haole girl, but best in the house. She's got the reddest hair any of us natives have ever seen. And when she moves, boy…"

He let out a long, low whistle as there was suddenly a flash of long shapely legs and a stunning redhead flipped acrobatically up onto the table's surface - causing the napkin dispenser and salt-and-pepper shakers to clink loudly - landing on her toes so that her heels wouldn't break off. Giggling perkily, she jumped backwards, off the table, to land on the floor on the balls of her feet and rested her heels on the ground. At five-foot-five, she was deemed "short" by average standards, but with piercing green eyes and long red hair, she was certainly a beauty. Her skimpy outfit showed off her petite frame and peaches 'n cream skin - and a lot of skin at that. Each of the girls, many of who doubled as waitresses and barmaids, were required to dress up in their own unique costume - an angel perhaps, or maybe even a she-devil - that generally tended to reflect each damsel's unparalleled personality. This was especially true for Diamond: her slim bikini (if one could even call it that) was silver and white and patterned over with glistening diamond patches. She also wore diamond studded sandals with six-inch stiletto heels…to make up for her aforementioned slight stature.

"Gentlemen, meet my newest jewel," Akino said almost proudly as he smiled up at her while she proudly performed a slight pirouette-like twirl on her toes and her face contorted into a grin so wide it was almost psychotic. Danny could tell that this woman loved showing off her curvaceous, sleek and youthful body, adoring the endless attention she lovingly received from the men who came here to seek pleasure.

"Three glasses of our finest Bordeaux, please," Akino commanded with a wink and a swat to her ample rear end.

"Comin' right up!" Diamond said before she flipped away.

"Well, she was certainly. . .energetic," Danny said finally, enjoying the view from behind as she left the table. He then seemed to recover himself as he asked, "Where are my shipments?"

"Butch was supposed to tell you to come back for 'em next week."

Danny knew that " _Butch_ " was the guy that he and his partner, Commander Steve McGarrett, had found neatly murdered the night before, but he simply said, "The door man has been. . .disposed of ."

"Oh," Akino said this in an offhand sort of way, as if the man's death didn't bother him in the slightest. "Well, in that case, just come back here next week and they'll be ready for you, like I said."

Danny sighed impatiently, the blinding force of his icy blue gaze boring into the pretentious Hawaiian. "I am more than. . .aware that you do not necessarily find my presence here to be intimidating, Mr. Akino -"

"Took you long enough to figure that out," Kai interrupted rudely. "Huh, I guess you're not as smart as you look, pretty boy."

Before Danny could respond, Diamond sailed over with their drinks. "Anything else I can getcha?" she asked, cocking her hips to the side sensually, her eyes never leaving Danny.

"That will be all, Diamond, thank you," her boss said gratefully, and expected his favorite girl to sweep away again gracefully. But that is not at all what happened next...

"Actually," the redhead said with a smile, "it won't be."

In a single, fluid motion, the stripper whipped a gun smoothly from behind her…where she might have been hiding it in her skimpy outfit was a puzzle to Danny…and aimed it almost gracefully into the chest of Kai Akino. Before anyone else could move, a group of men who had previously been sitting at the bar were suddenly swarming the table as calls of "NYPD….put your weapons down and your hands up," filled the room. Danny reacted quickly to this sudden turn of events, but not as quickly as "Diamond." Before he could head for the door in the chaos, the petite redhead had him up out of his seat, his arms wrestled behind his back, and was slapping the handcuffs around his wrists.

"Wait," Danny cried as she began maneuvering him out of the strip club, her stiletto heels clicking on the tile floor, "this isn't what it looks like. I'm…"

"Doing business with a cop killer," the dancer hissed fiercely into his ear, shoving him through the nearest exit. "You should be more careful about the kind of guy you're buying your drugs from. Now shut up."

"Chin!" Danny called, seeing his undercover partner being manhandled by another cop outside the club. "Tell them this is a mistake! Tell them…"

"I told you to shut up!" the sexy woman demanded, her green eyes flashing as she shoved him up against the car.

"Where's Steve?" Danny asked Chin, who simply shrugged in response and tried to motion for Danny to be quiet. As he realized that Chin was simply content to be taken down to the police station and straighten things out there, the New Jersey detective decided that he was not going to go that quietly and shouted, "Listen, you got this all wrong! I work for the governor."

"Who the hell is this guy?" another cop on the scene inquired over the sounds of Danny's protests.

"Some drug buyer,"  the redhead responded, "Not part of the original plan, but a bonus bust nonetheless.  We can hand him and his pal off to HPD as thanks for their island hospitality..."

"I am not a buyer!" Danny protested, looking over at Chin, "We're not! Call the governor…"

"Yeah, I'll do that," she shot back, beginning to pat Danny down for weapons, "Just as soon as I get off the phone with my boss…the Queen."

"I know this looks bad," Danny conceded as the beautiful police officer kneeled down to continue the pat down, "But we work for Hawaii 5-0. We report to the governor of Hawaii. We were on an undercover assignment having to do with the drugs that the Wilson Crips gang is moving…Hey! Watch the hands!"

Finished with the pat down, the female cop stood up and gave both Danny and Chin the once over before she commanded to her team, "Get them in the car. We'll take them down to HPD headquarters and we can sort it out there."


	2. Familiar Faces

"Well-behaved women seldom make history." - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

 

_Honolulu Police Station, an hour later…_

"I told you that I worked for the governor."

New York City Police Detective Harper James was leaning against one of the desks in the Honolulu Police Department's bullpen and doing her best to ignore Detective Danny Williams' latest attempt at conversation.  Her emerald green eyes were focused on the nearby Captain's office as her lieutenant from New York and the Captain of the HPD spoke animatedly over the speaker phone with Hawaii's Governor Denning. She looked completely out of place in the dingy bullpen as she was still wearing her stripper's outfit...sort of.   One of the guys from her team had graciously offered her his NYPD jacket to wear over the skimpy costume, but her sparkly stockings and stripper heels were still visible. She finally swung her eyes back in Danny's direction as she quipped, "And I told you that I am impressed. Twice now, I believe."

"But you did not apologize for not believing me," Danny pointed out, relaxing in a nearby chair and propping his feet up on a detective's desk.

"No, I did not."

The look on her face told Danny that an apology would not be forthcoming anytime soon, so he muttered, "I can't believe you frisked me."

Obviously irritated by her lack of control over the situation, Detective James shot back, "And I can't believe you haven't stopped talking yet. You have talked non-stop since I slapped the cuffs on you. Do you ever shut up?"

"No."

Harper gave him a strange look and then turned to her partner from the undercover operation at Club Halo as she asked, "Can you see if you can get me a change of clothes from somewhere? I left my bag in the van."

"Yeah sure," Detective Ed DeLuca of the NYPD agreed, hauling himself out of the chair he was sitting in, "we got nothing better to do right now anyway."

The team from New York was getting antsy as they waited around for all of the bureaucratic red tape to be straightened out by their bosses. After confirming the identities of Detectives Williams and Detective Kelly, they had somehow gotten themselves into a custody battle for their main suspect.  The governor wanted Kai Akino detained by Five-O for his illegal drug trafficking and the New York team wanted to take the alleged cop killer back to The Big Apple to pay for his crimes.  So the negotiating had begun.  And Harper James was not a patient woman.

"This is ridiculous," she fumed, beginning to pace around the bullpen. "We've got a cop killer sitting in a room down the hall and none of us can touch him." Looking back at Danny, she asked pointedly, "And where the hell is your boss? Why wasn't he with you?"

"He and our other partner were at a secondary location doing their own undercover work," Detective Chin Ho Kelly informed her patiently, seeming to appear out of nowhere. "The Wilson Crips gang is one of the largest on the island and we were trying to cover all of our bases." When he realized that the redheaded detective didn't really seem all that interested in his explanation, Chin simply smirked and stated, "He'll be here momentarily."

"Great," Harper mocked, glancing back at where the big wigs were arguing in the Captain's office.

Exchanging a knowing look with Chin, Danny changed the subject by asking, "So you're NYPD, huh? I'm your neighbor from Jersey, so I know all about the northern winters. And let me tell ya that it is much better to be here in February than back there."

"We're not on vacation," she pointed out, "We're here to take that scum bag back to New York, book him, and let him face a jury of his very outraged peers."

"Of course you are," Danny agreed, "but you gotta admit that you wouldn't be able to pull off that outfit back in New York without freezing off some very important parts of-. . ."  Danny stopped talking when Harper icily flashed her green eyes at him and he held up his hands in surrender. Not to be deterred, he asked, "How long have you been undercover at Club Halo?"

"Two weeks."

"You got Kai Akino to trust you that quickly?" Chin asked in surprise.

"Well, they didn't have a real selective hiring process," Detective James informed them, "basically I had to show him my boobs and we were good to go."

"Sounds like some dates I used to have back in Jersey." Danny quipped and smirked. And for one split second, the tough-as-nails lady detective broke free from her professional façade and spit out a laugh as she shook her head at him. Encouraged by this new response, he asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Can I stop you?"

Leaning forward and pouring on the charm, Danny flirted, "Where did you hide the gun?"

Harper scoffed at him and rolled her eyes as her partner returned to her side. . .sans a change of clothes for her. . .and said, "The consensus around here is that they don't keep any women's clothes hanging around. They offered up a prison jumpsuit, but I honestly don't think those guys are too eager to see you cover up."

She looked over at a nearby desk where detectives from the Honolulu Police Department were making no effort to conceal their enjoyment at having a scantily clad member of the NYPD in their midst. Apparently the boys club mentality that had plagued her throughout her entire career was universal.  Sighing dramatically, Harper asked, "Remind me again about the upside of working with guys?"

"You're not seriously going to interview the suspect dressed like that, are you?" Danny asked, giving her another once over.

"If I have to," she told him and then muttered, "If I ever get into the interview room." Shaking her head, the three men could see the anger rising up within her as she gestured toward their respective bosses and hissed, "Kai Akino killed a cop! A decorated member of the New York City Police Force." Turning to Danny and Chin, she added, "I can't believe your governor is forcing us to have a pissing contest over a cop killer!" Heading toward a nearby hallway, she muttered angrily to herself, "And I can't believe I am still wearing this ridiculous outfit!"

"Where are you going?" her partner called after her.

"To find my clothes!" she snapped back at him haughtily as she stormed her way down a random hallway in the precinct.

"Fiery temper on that one," Danny commented with a goofy grin, "I've heard that about redheads…"

"Hey, show some respect." Detective DeLuca snapped at Danny, surprising him. "The cop that got killed? He was her partner...Detective Samuel Norval."

"Oh," Danny said quietly, the grin fading from his face. "I'm sorry."

"We almost had Akino back in New York, man," DeLuca continued, looking back at the hallway his partner had just disappeared down, "but he ran. Six months we spent looking for him. Some of the higher ups wanted to give up, but there was no way Harper was going to rest until Sammy's killer was behind bars. In New York. And she can be pretty persuasive when she wants to be."

"I believe it," Danny agreed and then asked, "But isn't it a conflict of interest for her to be investigating her partner's murder? I mean, how'd she get on this job?"

"She's got some connections," Ed smirked, as if Danny had just stumbled upon an inside joke.

Taking the bait, Chin asked, "What kind of connections?"

"Ever heard of Mickey James?"

"Police Commissioner Mickey James?" Danny asked in surprise and then added sarcastically, "Yeah, I've heard of New York's top cop. Who hasn't?"

"She calls him daddy."

"Damn," Chin and Danny both said at the same time.

But before they could say anything else on the subject, the door to the stairwell slammed open and Commander Steve McGarrett hurried into the bullpen followed closely by Officer Kono Kalakaua.

"What's going on?" Steve demanded, coming up to the trio of police officers, "Where's Akino?"

"He's in custody," Chin informed them quickly, "Kai Akino is not the problem."

"So what is the problem?" The Commander asked, looking around in confusion.

"I am the problem," came a female voice from behind them.

All five police officers turned around to see Detective Harper James walk back into the bullpen, still wearing her ridiculous outfit. But at that moment the rest of the world could have faded away because those icy green eyes of hers were fastened solely on Commander Steve McGarrett.  And his eyes were locked with hers, a stunned look frozen on his handsome face.

Moving further into the bullpen, Harper kept her eyes locked on Steve's as she commented, "But then again, I've always been the problem. Haven't I, Steven?"

"Steven?" Danny mimicked, looking from Steve to Harper and then back to Steve as he asked, "You know her?"

"Know her?" Steve repeated, suddenly recovering his powers of speech, "I used to be married to her."


	3. Welcome to Hawaii

 

" _A wife lasts only for the length of the marriage, but an ex-wife is there for the rest of your life."_ ~ Jim Samuels

 

"I found my bag."

Harper, her eyes still fixed on Steve, walked forward to join the small band of cops gathered at the bullpen desk and she was indeed carrying a leather messenger bag over her left shoulder. Finally tearing her eyes away from her ex, she looked at her current partner and stated nervously, "One of the cops from the stakeout found it and dropped it off outside the women's locker room. But now I need to find…"

"Married?" Danny interrupted, not caring one bit about her bag.  Looking at his partner, he asked again, "You were married?  To her?"

Steve, holding his gaze steady on the woman he hadn't seen in seven years, finally asked in a quiet voice, "How are you, Jimmy?"

"Jimmy?" Danny repeated, looking around at his teammates, "Did he just call her Jimmy?"

But he seemed to be the only one of them who felt the need to speak, as the rest of the team were rendered mute by the surprising turn of events they had just witnessed. Ed DeLuca didn't seem to know what his next move was going to be either. And Harper and Steve were no help…they didn't seem to realize that anyone else was in the room.

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked his ex-wife, folding his arms across his chest, "Do you not get how divorce works?"

Those green eyes that Steve remembered getting lost in so easily were suddenly flashing fire at him and he felt a familiar surge of excitement course through him. Her beautiful face contorted in anger as she snapped, "I'm not here because of you. I'm just here because I'm here. I would be here whether you were here or not. You're just some guy who happens to know me."

"Thank you," he shot back, trying his best to conceal a smirk. He was always so good at pushing her buttons.

Knowing that he was baiting her, she sighed and said, "I didn't ... you know what I mean."

"No, I don't actually,"  Steve shot back,  "Could you keep talking about being here and not being here until blood starts pouring out of my ears?" They were so good at this give and take. But there wasn't time for their history now, so he asked suddenly, "How'd you know I was here?"

"I didn't," Harper assured him, crossing her own arms over her bikini clad chest, "How could I? This is just an unhappy coincidence." And then as if something had just dawned on her, she asked, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"In Hawaii?"

"We'll get to that part," she assured him icily, "but for right now all I want to know is why you're _here_ …at the police station."

"He's our boss," Chin told her, his soulful eyes still taking in the whole scene.

"Your boss?" Harper repeated, blinking quickly in surprise, "You're a cop now?"

"Leader of the Five-0 task force, actually," Steve informed her and then let his eyes travel down the length of her body as he smirked and remarked, "Nice outfit."

"It was good enough for Kai Akino," she informed him haughtily, but everyone standing around noticed how she self consciously pulled the jacket closed over herself.

Getting down to business, Steve asked, "And what does the San Diego Police Department want with a Hawaiian gang banger?"

"Actually, it's the New York Police Department now." Harper corrected him angrily, but she quickly flipped over to business mode as well. She had a few things to straighten out with the " _leader of the Five-0 task force"_ , so she explained, "And your Hawaiian gang banger is our cop killer. Who, by the way, we tracked here to Hawaii after a six month investigation, staked out for two weeks until we confirmed his identity, and arrested in a by-the-book undercover operation. And then, to be good team players, we called the governor's office to confirm the identity of your two guys here and suddenly Kai Akino's not in our custody anymore…he's in yours." Turning her anger on Danny, she added snidely, "The two guys who managed to stumble into the middle of our bust are now getting custody of our murderer."

Feeling the sudden need to defend himself, Danny tried to explain, "We didn't stumble into anything.  We were there on an undercover assignment of our own.  Which we couldn't complete because you swooped in before we got a chance to…"

"And that's another thing," the redheaded detective fumed, gesturing around the room, "We were working in conjunction with Honolulu PD and they had no idea that you were even conducting an investigation at Club Halo."

"Five-0 doesn't report to HPD…" Steve tried to explain, but that was about as far as he got.

"So, I've heard," she snapped, "But since you all work together on this little island, you could try checking in once in awhile." Drawing in a deep breath, she leveled her ex-husband with those eyes of hers as she served up her next blow, "But then again, you never did like to play by the rules, did you Steven?"

"Steven." Danny repeated and chuckled, obviously amused by the situation and the fact that this redheaded spitfire was calling Commander Steve McGarrett by his given name.

Ignoring both his partner and his ex-wife's career advice, Steve asked, "When did you move back to New York?"

"The day after I got served with divorce papers," Harper answered coldly.

Ignoring her pointed statement, Steve cleared his throat and stated, "Your talent was wasted in San Diego. You would've gotten restless…you were born to work for the New York City Police Department." Grinning nervously at his own statement, he added, "Literally."

But Harper wasn't amused by his words. In fact, she seemed to lose a little bit of her swagger as she said quietly, "Well, for a few misguided years I cared about something besides my career." Looking pointedly at her ex-husband, she stated matter of factly, "I won't make that mistake again."

Her statement stung and everyone in the room could see it on McGarrett's face. Guilt. Remorse. Sadness? No one could really tell because it was only a flicker of emotion and then it was gone. Knowing that he was unable to conceal it, Steve looked down at the floor and his team did a double take. For the first time since they had known him Commander Steve McGarrett was rendered speechless.

"James!"

The voice of Harper's boss, Lieutenant Mac Sheridan, echoed through the bullpen and startled everyone. As she turned to see him leaning out of the HPD Captain's office, he bellowed again, "Get your ass over here…the governor wants to talk to us. And bring the Five-0 guy!"

Smirking, Harper turned to walk toward the small office as she said, "Come on Five-0 guy…we're being summoned."

The pair walked off together, leaving their stunned partners staring after them like a group of teenage girls. Entering the office of Honolulu Police Captain Louis Kealoha, Steve and Harper joined Lt. Sheridan in looking down at the speaker phone in the middle of the room.

"Governor, Commissioner, we have been joined by Detective Harper James of the NYPD and Commander Steve McGarrett of Hawaii Five-0." Captain Kealoha began by introducing the newcomers and then continued,  "Detective James was responsible for the arrest of Kai Akino and Commander McGarrett now has him in custody per order of the governor."

Harper did not realize that her father would be in on the phone call and closed her eyes to pray that he didn't say anything…

"Commander McGarrett."

Mickey James' silky smooth, deep baritone voice simply acknowledged Steve's presence in the room and Harper opened her eyes just in time to see him nod and respond, "Commissioner James."

And that was it. Harper didn't know what she had been expecting…running into Steve had thrown her off her game. She should have known that her father would have been nothing but a complete professional in the situation, but she also knew that her ex-husband was not one of Mickey James' favorite people.

Governor Denning's voice rang through the small office as he said, "Congratulations on a flawless undercover operation, Detective. And my condolences on the loss of your partner. The Commissioner tells me that he was a good man."

"He was, sir," Harper agreed, not quite sure where this conversation was headed.

"Commander," the governor continued, "because we are talking about the murder of a police officer, Commissioner James and I have decided that the New York team will be taking Mr. Akino into custody and transporting him back to Manhattan so that he can have his day in court." Harper tried very hard not to smile at her victory…she knew her  father could talk anyone into anything. It's what made him such a good cop and an even better boss. And the look of dismay on Steve's face made it somehow sweeter.  And then the governor continued, "But while he is still in Five-0 custody, Commander, your team will conduct a joint investigation with the New York team to find out about his illegal narcotics business here on the island."

"So basically, you two will have to cooperate," Commissioner James added matter of factly, "We need to be assured that the two teams will be able to work together for the greater good. I am assuming that there will be no conflict of interest here. Am I correct?"

"Yes, sir," both Steve and Harper answered at the same time.

"Good," the Commissioner stated and then added, "Governor, Captain Kealoha, it's been a pleasure. Mac, let's get the arrangements underway for the transfer of the prisoner. And if you gentlemen don't mind, I'd like a moment to speak with my daughter. In private."

As the governor hung up and Harper stepped forward to pick up the telephone receiver, Mac, Steve, and Lou quickly made themselves scarce so that father and daughter could finish their part of the conversation. Walking back out into the bullpen alone, Ed DeLuca asked Steve, "Where's Harper?"

"Talking to her father."

"The Commissioner?" Danny asked, looking over Steve's shoulder toward the Captain's office.

"No, we're done talking to the Commissioner," Steve said grimly, "I'm pretty sure she's talking to her father now."

"And he's not a big fan of yours, I take it?" Chin Ho deduced, biting back a grin.

Steve shook his head in confirmation as Danny, his eyes still on Harper, stated bluntly, "She is way too hot for you."

"Thank you."

Getting back on topic, Ed asked, "So, what happened in there?"

"Akino is yours," Steve told him, "but we get to talk to him first about the drugs he's moving onto the island. And then you can take him back to New York."

"I'm going to want in on that interview of yours," Harper chimed in, coming out of the Captain's office and approaching the teams.

"That's not going to happen." Steve informed her, still miffed at losing custody of his drug dealer.

Harper narrowed her eyes and told him, "Well I'll admit that I don't know a whole lot about how you conduct your investigations down here in paradise, but back on the mainland we like to ask our suspects a few questions before we haul them off to jail.  You know, due process and all that."

"You'll have plenty of time to interview him on the plane ride back to New York."

"Were you in the room just now?"  Harper asked her ex-husband, "Did you hear the part about this being _a joint investigation with the New York team_?  I am the New York team.  We promised to cooperate."

It was obvious that Steve wasn't about to give an inch so he dug in, crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a stare of his own.  Which drove his ex-wife nuts.

"Don't get angry at me and pitch one of your little hissy fits,"  she announced, taking a few steps toward him until they were practically nose to nose.  "This wasn't my idea, you know. I was on the trail of a cop killer who we happened to track here to Hawaii. I didn't even know this is where you had disappeared to."  Steve had no response, so she repeated in a tight voice, "I didn't know you were here."

"Didn't say that you did," he finally answered nonchalantly.

"Then stop giving me the stare!" Harper exclaimed, her voice level rising. "Despite everything that went on between us, I am a damn good cop!"

"The best I know," Steve agreed, glaring down at her.

"You are lucky to have me as part of this investigation!" she shouted at him.

"Yes I am!" he shouted back.

"Then why the hell are we fighting?"

"Because we're good at it!"

The pair stared at each other for what felt like an eternity and you could cut the tension in the room with a knife. Finally, Harper said in a calm voice, "Fine."

"Fine," Steve agreed.

"I'm going to change," she announced, slinging her bag over her shoulder and heading off down the hall toward the woman's locker room.

"You do that," he mocked, pulling out his phone and beginning to dial. "I'll be waiting out here. Don't take too long."

After watching Harper stomp down the hall and Steve pretend that he was not annoyed, Danny turned to Kono and Chin as he said sarcastically, "Oh, this is going to be fun."


	4. Questions and Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you are all enjoying this story and Harper James. Interrogation chapters are hard so I did the best that I could! I hope you like this chapter...

 

_Honolulu Police Station Bullpen, 15 minutes later…_

"So this is an interesting development, huh?"

Kono had been the first one of the team brave enough to approach their boss and Steve looked up at her in confusion at the question.

"What's that?" he asked, pretending that he didn't know what she was talking about, "Our local gang kingpin being suspected of killing that cop up in New York?" But when Kono gave him a knowing look, he smirked and said, "Oh, you mean the ex-wife in the woman's locker room thing."

"Yeah, that thing," Kono shot back, shaking her head at his attempt at humor, "You were married?"

"In another lifetime."

"And all of the times that we talked about my ex-wife and my divorce and my misery, you never once thought that was a relevant piece of information to share?" Danny asked, moving over to the desk and taking the file that Steve was pretending to read out of his hands.

"No."

"No?" The New Jersey detective asked, raising an eyebrow at his partner. "Why not?"

"Because we were talking about _your_ ex-wife and _your_ divorce and _your_ misery, all of which you decided to share," Steve pointed out, grabbing the file back from Danny, " _I_ chose not to share."

"Why-?" Kono started to ask, but her wiser cousin cut her off.

"You really didn't know she was here in Hawaii?" Chin Ho asked, feeling confident that their boss would answer that question instead.

"I really didn't know she was in Hawaii." The Commander reiterated, opening the case file up again.

But Danny was not ready to put this issue to rest, so he asked, "How is that possible?"

"Because we are DIVORCED!" Steve exploded, frustrated by the situation and all of the questions that surrounded it. Realizing that it wasn't fair to take it out on them, he lowered his voice and added, "And it didn't end…well."

"Which, in McGarrett speak, means that he skipped town and served me with divorce papers two months later."

All four heads snapped around to see that Harper James had re-entered the bullpen with an amused look on her face.

And Steve's mouth went dry.

After all this time, she still got to him. He couldn't believe it. So when he looked up and saw her standing there in her "get down to business" outfit with her head slightly tipped to the side, her eyebrow arched and looking bold as sin, he felt his breath catch in his throat. After ten years his body was trained to respond to hers and the former SEAL couldn't stop himself from letting his eyes take a familiar walk down that body…form fitting jeans, leather jacket, crisp white blouse, standard issue boots, hair brushed out and falling loosely over her shoulders in crimson waves, face freshly scrubbed and remade with light make-up, and her mother's locket hanging from a simple silver chain around her neck. As fantastic as she had looked in that sparkly two piece and stiletto heels, this was how he remembered her…soft, natural, and ready to kick ass at a moment's notice.

Sensing that her ex-husband ( _and every other male in the room_ ) was giving her the once over, she held out her arms and did a little spin as she asked, "So, do I look presentable enough to interview my suspect now?"

"Presentable is a good word," Danny answered, winking at her in a comical way.

"Okay, let's do this," Steve managed to choke out, standing up and giving his partner a shove for his last comment. He then sent his team a look that told them that they were not going to be joining in on the interview before he fell into step with his ex-wife.  Sensing the intensity radiating from her, Steve suddenly felt the need to warn, "We don't want to spook him, so you might want to tread lightly…"

"I was done treading lightly the moment that Sammy's body hit the pavement," she answered, looking straight ahead and not glancing over at him. "Now I'm strapping on the combat boots."

Before Steve could say anything else, they had arrived at the interrogation room door and Harper pushed it open. She walked into the dimly lit room, followed closely by her ex-husband, and evaluated the man handcuffed to a metal chair in the middle of the room. Tall, bleached-blonde spiky hair, dark stubble, tanned skin. His posture was relaxed, but there was a distinctive wariness around the man's eyes. Being left alone in the interrogation room for an hour didn't appear to have rattled him but that wasn't too surprising; two stints in prison for drug trafficking and sexual assault would have hardened him.

"My diamond girl," Kai exclaimed the moment that he saw her walk into the room. There was a slight leering nature to the way he looked at Harper as he spoke and Steve clenched his jaw and his fists simultaneously. Grinning like the cat who ate the canary, Kai gave her the once over and added, "I gotta tell ya, doll, I liked the other outfit better. But this buttoned up, professional look has its advantages, too."

Harper did her best to ignore the way that he was blatantly checking her out as she and Steve took their places on either side of him and asked calmly, "How do you know TJ Carlton, Mr. Akino?"

Kai nonchalantly shifted his chair back onto all four feet and smiled as he asked innocently, "Who?"

Steve pulled a photo out of the folder he was holding and held it up in front of Kai as he repeated, "TJ Carlton. Known drug distributor on the island."

The man reached out to take the photo and made a pretense of studying it, before throwing it on the floor as he said, "Sorry, don't know him."

"We have a witness who can place you with Mr. Carlton two weeks ago."

"Really?" the gang leader leaned back, smiling and raising his eyebrows. "I find that hard to believe."

"Why is that, Mr. Akino?"

The creep leaned in towards Steve and repeated, "Because I have never met Mr. Carlton, and anyone who said that I had would be lying."

"Let's try a different tactic then, shall we?" the Commander suggested quickly, anticipating his response as he opened up the folder and pulled out the surveillance photos Kono had taken at different drug buys around the island. "Here we are meeting with TJ Carlton in Kapiolani Park…it's kind of a dark photograph but that neat hairdo of yours is pretty recognizable. And here you are meeting with him in the parking lot of an ABC store…meeting in his car is very cloak and dagger. It seems like you may have done this before…"

Kai didn't even blink before he replied, "That's not me, man."

Harper, who had remained silent up until this point, suddenly opened the folder she had brought into the room with her and said, "Well then maybe you'll remember this man…New  York City Police Detective Samuel Jameson Norval."

The detective leafed through her photographs in front of Kai Akino...photos taken on the streets of Brooklyn the night that Sammy Norval had been murdered. Death in all its graphic glory, shown from every angle. Nothing hidden, all revealed. She watched Akino's reaction and saw a flicker of something that was quickly suppressed, too quickly for her to determine what it was.

Kai's lips twitched into a smile. "Not such a good protector of the people, is he? He can't even protect his own self."

Harper could feel Steve's steadying presense as he came to stand closer to her. She knew he could sense that she was about to blow and get the entire interview thrown out. Quickly squeezing his hand to let him know that she was still in control, Harper took a deep breath and steadied herself as she said, "He was ambushed on the street in Brooklyn…gunned down while he was off duty. His pregnant wife and four year old son were waiting for him in their favorite restaurant down the street."

Her eyes, which could flash fire hot enough to burn a man's soul, bore into his with such a cold ferocity that it made McGarrett feel uncomfortable. But Kai Akino just smiled and looked at her.

"That's a very sad story, diamond girl."

"It is," the redheaded detective agreed, looking for any sign of recognition on his smug face. "But it's not as sad as your story is about to be."

"My story?" Akino asked, interest showing in his face. "My story is already sad. But I'm a survivor."

"That's good," Steve remarked dryly, leaning back against the wall, "Because you're gonna need that kind of spirit while you're sitting on death row."

"Hawaii don't have the death penalty, man."

"No, it does not," Steve agreed, "but New York does." 

"New York?"

"Yeah, see that is where Brooklyn is located," the Commander informed him, as if he were talking to a six year old child, "and where you are going to face charges for the murder of Samuel Norval."

For the first time in their brief history, Kai was rendered speechless for a moment and it gave Harper the opportunity to say, "Save your breath, McGarrett. He's not afraid of you. Or me. Or New York's death penalty. He's a proud drug kingpin who lives his day to day life under the possibility of execution. And his enemies executions are a lot less dainty than ours and tend to take place without the bother and expense of due process."

"So you're just giving up?" Steve asked, feigning surprise but following her lead willingly. They were good at this part.

"Giving up? When have you ever known me to give up, Steven?" Harper asked, almost sweetly. "That's not what I said at all. We're just going to have to figure out something that does scare him."

"Nothing scares me, bitch," Akino replied, narrowing his eyes at the redheaded detective. But Harper didn't flinch.  In fact, she smiled.  And in that moment both Steve and Kai realized that Harper James knew exactly what scared him. So, Steve just sat back and got ready to enjoy the ride.

"Do you have family, Kai?" Harper asked calmly, measuring his reaction. When he tried to ignore her question, she simply smiled as she informed him, "Of course you do. Did you really think I would come in here without knowing that about you? See, I am a very good investigator, Kai. And after we found your DNA on my partner's body, I began investigating you. So I know all about your little brother, Mehki."

Steve watched as Kai unconsciously straightened up in his chair the minute his brother's name left Harper's lips and knew that she had hit on a sensitive spot. He had to keep himself from smiling as she continued, "But he's not in a gang, is he? No, he managed to stay the course…freshman at Honolulu University, never been arrested, living with mom, helping to pay the bills by working for a living at The Steak Shack."

"Sounds like a real stand up kid," Steve remarked, lacing his fingers together on top of the table in front of him before he asked, "Are you sure the two of you are related?"

Harper chuckled as she mused, "Ah, brothers. They are something else, aren't they?"

"She should know," the Commander explained, tilting his head in Harper's direction, "she has four of them."

Nodding in confirmation, the detective continued, "Four brothers. All cops. Plus, I was raised by cops…dad, grandad, a couple of uncles. You know those Irish/Italian New York cop families…it's a multi-generational thing. And one thing the cops in my family liked to do was sit around and tell stories. Mainly, I'm sure they were trying to one up each other. But in listening to all of those story swapping sessions, I learned a lot about how gangs and corruption work. See the guys I grew up with were dealing with gangs long before you were ever on the scene, Kai…the Irish, the Italians, the Russians, all the big name players. And what I learned was that when the head of the gang is cut off, the body has this innate ability to reform itself. Like salamanders or lizards."

Harper stood up and moved away from him to stand near Steve against the far wall. Crossing her arms over her chest, she simply glared at Kai as she added, "So if we took you back to New York to sit on death row…because that's what happens to cop killers in New York…I'm sure one of your top lieutenants would step up and take over the Wilson Crips in your absence. It would probably turn into an all out war…"

"And we thank you for dropping that on our doorstep, detective." Steve deadpanned.

"You are very welcome, Commander." Harper retorted without missing a beat, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "But it does leave me to wonder…what would happen to your mother and brother if you are not around to protect them, Kai? Would they become casualties in this gang war? Or rewards?"

"Is that what scares you, Kai?" Steve asked, moving over and leaning in so that he was right in the face of a visibly shaken Kai. "Leaving mommy and baby brother to fend for themselves against your gang bangers?"

"You've made a lot of enemies, haven't you Kai?" the redhead added, picking up where Steve left off, "Enemies that wouldn't hesitate to use your family as collateral on their climb to the top."

"Was that a threat?" Kai asked Harper accusingly. Then turning to Steve, he asked, "Did you just hear her threaten me and my family?"

"No," they both answered at the same time causing Steve to grin and say, "We gotta stop doing that."

Kai watched Steve for a moment and then looked over to a smug Harper as he informed her, "You can't mess with family, bitch."

Both the murderer and the S.E.A.L. watched as her face turned to stone. Emotionless.  Yet bubbling just below the surface Steve could detect all of her anger and hatred as she said icily, "Samuel Norval was **my** family. My partner. And you shot him dead like a dog in the street. So the list of things I can and can't do became drastically shorter the day you killed my friend."

Steve could tell that she was trying very hard to control her emotions and if he wasn't mistaken he could see her blinking back the hot tears that had to be forming. She was the daughter and granddaughter of cops, the sister of cops…all men in blue were like family to her. But most especially her partner.

"But that wasn't enough for you, was it Kai?" she continued, reigning in her temper because she knew she had the upper hand, "You had to insult him, didn't you? You had to see for yourself that he was dead and then you spit on him. Right on his face. And that was your fatal mistake. Because in your spit was the DNA evidence that we are going to use to nail your ass to the wall."

"I want a deal."

"Well, I want my partner back," Harper sneered, "I guess neither of us are going to get what we want today."

"You don't know what it's like!" Kai exclaimed, focusing his gaze on Harper. "You think I don't know who you are? I know you're New York police royalty." He crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair and tried to play his hand by saying, "Harper Elizabeth James…daughter and granddaughter of the last two Police Commissioners. And your mother was old money New York…I bet Jackie O. and Donald Trump came to dinner at least once a week while you were growing up. You never had to survive on the streets."

"No, I didn't," she agreed, coming back and leaning over to look Akino in the eye, "But this isn't about me. This is about a little boy who saw his father gunned down in the street, gun pointed right at his daddy's face. Point blank. But that's not the worst part of it. Because you see, his father was killed for someone else's crime. The horror, the random unfairness of it. The boy doesn't remember any of his childhood after that day and his father's murder hardens him. It then becomes his mission to take to the same streets, join a gang, carry a gun, try to right some of those wrongs from oh so long ago." Standing up straight and crossing her arms over her own chest, Harper leveled him with a piercing look as she continued, "But that's not your life story, Kai. It's Sammy Norval's. You see the difference between the two of you is he put on a New York City police uniform and carried a service revolver. There's a huge difference between his gang and yours. He worked to keep your gang alive…them, their families, their neighbors. Samuel Norval would have been willing to give up his life to save yours. That's was his job. That was his mission. And you killed him for it."

This time Steve was almost sure he saw her blink back the tears as she came to stand right in front of Kai Akino and moved closer as she sneered, "Me? I don't pity you, Kai. There's lots of people with worse stories than yours and they never hurt anyone. You killed an unarmed NYPD Detective and you want me to feel sorry for you because your daddy didn't kiss you when you were a baby?" Straightening up again, Harper moved toward the door as she delivered her parting shot, "Rot in hell, you son of a bitch."

"That was a brilliant speech, Diamond." Kai spat out, watching her walk away from him. When she turned to face him, he asked, "But haven't you ever heard that you shouldn't kill the messenger?"

Steve could see the flash of anger in her brilliant green eyes and he immediately moved in…not to protect Harper, but to protect the poor slug who didn't know what he was in for.

"No, no let him speak," she told Steve, practically pushing him out of the way, "What are you trying to say to me?"

"I'm not the one who wanted your copper dead." Akino told them, gaining some of his swagger back after Harper had mopped the floor with him. When he saw that he had her full attention, he added snidely, "In fact, I didn't even know his name until you mentioned it. I was just the hired gun."

"Who hired you."

"No way," Akino shook his head, "I want a deal."

"And we want a name," Steve interjected, "You're not in a position to deal."

"Oh really?" Kai asked, smirking up at the Commander, "Because what I have to say will be of some interest to you, too, Commander McGarrett. You and your father."

McGarrett didn't even have to motion to Harper because she instinctively turned off the cameras in the interview room and as soon as she had, Steve had Kai up out of his chair and pinned to the nearby wall. His large muscular arms reached out and drove his fists of steel into Akino's surprised face. He then drove the palm of his left hand into Kai's upper chest, just below his throat and delivered a heavy blow to his gut with his right. And in one swift, deft motion, the Navy S.E.A.L. had the suspect on the floor with his hands pinned behind his back. He put one of his knees on his back and commanded, "Give us a name."

The tough gang banger crumpled under the fierce strength of Steve McGarrett and he squirmed as he cried out, "Police brutality!"

"He's not the police," Harper informed him smugly and then repeated, "Give us the name of the guy you are working for."

"Wo Fat."

 

 


End file.
